Don't laugh what car for M.I.L?[:D] [:D]

ghostrider · Post by **ghostrider** » 04 Apr 2005, 00:25

Now I have little or no street cred as it is and this post is likely to remove the last of it[:p][:p][:p], but here goes...
In 1989 I converted my MIL (mother in law) to citroens, such that she bought a new BX19RD and ran it for 14 years and racked up about 200K, finally the rust did for it and she said she wanted another one, I found a nice 60K L reg 19RD estate with a few niggling problems for ?250 I got it going nicely and used it myself for a month or so before handing it over, that was 18 months ago, she has had loads of small problems and 3 times the thing has lost all its green blood, resulting in her having to be recovered, not too bad if you're 25 but when you are 82 a bit different.
She seems to be jinxed with this one (her words), it is now a very shabby, having collected several knocks and she wants it changed.
What to buy? Max budget is ?1500 and I think it will need to be a non hydraulic Cit, ZX, Saxo, Xsara, but whatever it needs to be reliable and with me being 150 miles away, easy for the local garage to fix, the guy there is OK doesn't rip her off but is not particularly well up on the hydraulics.
The Bx was recovered yet again last night with, fluid pouring down from the crossmember somewhere over towards the drivers side
Suggestions please guys ...no..... what car to buy not what to do with MIL [8D][8D] [8D][8D] [8D][8D]
Oh yeah anyone suggesting she gives up driving has a perfectly valid idea but if that is what you want to say, you may only do so if you are prepared to talk to her face to face and convince her that giving up her independance is a good idea [}:)][}:)][}:)][}:)][}:)][}:)]
Pete
________
BMW SAUBER F1.07 HISTORY

DoubleChevron · Post by **DoubleChevron** » 04 Apr 2005, 06:07

She probably doesn't do many miles, why don't you leave your CX2500 GTi Turbo II in her shed. She'll probably only give it a run for you each Sunday (to get to bowls) ....[}:)]... [}:)]
You can call it a "grandma driven to bowls on Sunday" car if you ever want to sell it [:D][:p]
seeya
Shane L.

bxbodger · Post by **bxbodger** » 04 Apr 2005, 17:49

She would probably be better off with an Avensis or a Primera, or if she's not a badge snob a Daewoo Nexia- I know a lot of people hate these sort of cars but they do what it says on the tin, so to speak, with no drama or bother.

Kowalski · Post by **Kowalski** » 04 Apr 2005, 18:54

Proton / Hyundai?
I've seen both of the above looking relatively new and very cheap for what you get, in fact they make a 5 year old Xantia look positvely overpriced.

James.UK · Post by **James.UK** » 04 Apr 2005, 19:26

There's only one option really.. 1994 or earlier (pre face lift) ZX 1.9D.. no ecu, no cat, no turbo, The better spec ones like the Aura and Avantage are excellant.
Personaly I would be looking to get her an automatic, because they give you/her more time to concentrate on the road as you dont have any gear changes to faf about with..
They are also very hard to abuse due to being auto, i.e. over-revving is not an easy thing to do in one, they also tend to be lower milage, better maintained, and in better condition generally speaking, as lots of them are ex DLA cars thus all servicing was done on time, as part of the deal. You should be able to find a really nice one with less than 100K on the clock, for your £1,500 budget.. [^]
Diesel auto's are NOT easy to sell, and Citroen diesel auto's are even harder to sell, as most people think all cits have an extremely complex suspension system that costs the earth to repair and maintain, so do a bit of serious haggling! The Aura I bought was on a forecourt for £1,400, but I waived any form of guarentee etc, offered cash, and got the car for £995 with a new MOT, 82K on the clock, and it had only had one prev owner, a lady had owned it from new. [:D] ..
.

ghostrider · Post by **ghostrider** » 04 Apr 2005, 20:35

Double Chevron, now I love my MIL dearly, but GTI Tii in her shed, wow !!!! Would you? [:D] [:D] [:D] [:D] [:D] [:D] [:D] [:D] she'd have 50k on the clock in the blink of an eye along with losing her licence with speeding tickets.......or is that part of the plot [:D] [:D] [:D] [:D] [:D] [:D] [:D] [:D]
Pete
________
Rolls-royce 20 hp (1905)

yangreen · Post by **yangreen** » 04 Apr 2005, 21:38

Nah, what she wants is a Pug 306 DTurbo with 90k on the clock and a recent cambelt. I might want a little more than £1500 though...
This is a totally unbiased view of course....

DoubleChevron · Post by **DoubleChevron** » 05 Apr 2005, 10:53

I dunno, I reckon the old dear would have a great time. You could insure it in her name (really really cheaply), she'd love the adrenalin rush of bouncing it off the rev limiter through the gears [:D] [}:)] I can already see the news story "Granny caught doing 90mph in 40mph zone in a turbo charged car"

Personally with my MIL, I wouldn't let the old bat even park within a city block of my car, certainly she'd be walking (or crawling ... I don't care) before I'd ever let her in the drivers seat of one of my cars.
seeya,
Shane L.
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by ghostrider</i>

Double Chevron, now I love my MIL dearly, but GTI Tii in her shed, wow !!!! Would you? [:D] [:D] [:D] [:D] [:D] [:D] [:D] [:D] she'd have 50k on the clock in the blink of an eye along with losing her licence with speeding tickets.......or is that part of the plot [:D] [:D] [:D] [:D] [:D] [:D] [:D] [:D]
Pete
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tomsheppard · Post by **tomsheppard** » 07 Apr 2005, 00:01

Sensible question, that. What do you do if you are 82 and still up to driving.
Ford did a lot of research into the older driver, making their designers dress up in restricted mobility suits and "cataract" glasses (Which explains the Puma and Scorpio's styling!). The Ka was designed with big and wide opening doors for just that reason.
As a Ka is out of budget, then a good n/a diesel ZX seems to be the way to spend the money.

ghostrider · Post by **ghostrider** » 07 Apr 2005, 04:27

Ok so wave bye bye to that street cred, I took Bxbodgers advice and bought a 93 Primera 1.6, I posted on the NPOC site to find out about their weaknesses and .... apart from a slight rust problem where the cill meets the rear wheel arch things to look for.... Is there petrol in the tank? do I like the colour? it seems that apart from timing chains going rattly at around 150K there aint much to look out for, it is not as interesting as a Cit but as I said I need something ultra reliable (mind you I did point out to my MIL that in nearly 30 years and must be getting on for a million miles I have never been stranded by any of my Cits) (PS see tomorrow nights post re Xantia breakdown [:D] [:D] [:D] [:D] [:D] [:D] [:D] ).
The other recommendation of a ZX was good too, my sister refuses to part with hers after 10 years, my wife's business partner has just got rid of his, which was a pity as he owned it from new and looked after it..
Pete
________
Zx14 vs hayabusa

ghostrider · Post by **ghostrider** » 07 Apr 2005, 04:43

Sounds like you've been through this one Tom, I think my only real reservation about people of my MILs age driving are that along with their independance, the other thing that they don't want to acknowledge is that your reactions and perceptions do slow as you get older.
I'm well on the wrong side of 50 now, and I know I'm not as sharp as I was 30 years ago and try to drive accordingly, and I also do enough miles to be able to use my experience to avoid trouble as far as possible, but it seems as if there comes a time when you suddenly start to believe that nothing has changed and thats when things start to go wrong.
I was out with the MIL the other day, somehow she seemed oblivious to what I perceived as hazardsin town, we then went onto the M6 to Carlisle and quick as a flash she was in lane 3 with the pedal welded to the metal at well over 90 [:D] [:D] [:D] [:D] and apparently able to take in information fast enough to be able to cope with the speed weird
Pete
________
Honda SL70

bxbodger · Post by **bxbodger** » 07 Apr 2005, 04:47

Ten million minicab drivers can't be wrong- they just don't seem able to break them!!
Here's a bit of a shock for haters of Korean cars, as well-http://www.autoindustry.co.uk/news/indu ... y-1_3_2005
Scroll down to 'budget brands build residual value', which as the wife is driving a Kia I am quite glad to see!!!